The Birmingham Public Library (BPL) is hosting a new art exhibit that is part of a non-partisan, nationwide campaign using art as a means to inspire civic participation by celebrating freedoms in advance of the 2018 midterm elections.
For Freedoms - Alabama will open on Sunday, October 28, 2018, in
the Central Library Fourth Floor Gallery and be free and open to the public
through Friday, January 25, 2019

For additional information about For Freedoms, visit
www.forfreedoms.org and follow the
50 State Initiative on Instagram
and Facebook. For
Freedoms was founded by artists in 2016 as a platform for civic engagement,
discourse, and direct action in the United States. The exhibit was inspired
by
Norman Rockwell's 1943 paintings of the four universal freedoms
articulated by
Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1941â€”freedom of speech, freedom of worship,
freedom from want, and freedom from fear. For Freedoms uses art to deepen
public discussions of civic issues and core values, and to clarify that
citizenship in American society is dependent on participation, not ideology.
The 50 State Initiative (including Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico) is the
largest creative collaboration in the history of this country, with For
Freedoms' 200-plus institutional partners bringing together artists and
community leaders across the country through exhibitions and town hall
meetings, and public billboard projects.

Painting at UAB, a free exhibit featuring paintings created by students of University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Professor Gary Chapman, will be on display in the Fourth Floor Gallery in the East Building of the Central Library beginning September 7 through October 25, 2018. An opening reception is scheduled for Sunday, September 9, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m., in the gallery.

The exhibit will highlight the diverse work created in the UAB College of Arts and Sciences Department of Art and Art History painting studio under Chapman's guidance. Chapman said the entire exhibit is from current and recently graduated students of painting at UAB, mostly fine arts majors. Each student will have two to three paintings in the show, and two artists will have a larger display of their work.

"What I am most proud of my students at this, the advanced level, is the diversity of style and subject matter," Chapman said. "There is a prevalence of figurative work, primarily because it was the subject of a recent class. But the show includes work that is abstract as well as geometric patterning." Chapman said his objective as their professor is to first teach them "the language of paint and to learn to command that language. Then the fun begins in challenging them to find their own vision for what to do with that language. I am very proud of this group of student/artists."

One of the Birmingham Public Library (BPL) Archives' most popular exhibits,
Common Bonds: Birmingham Snapshots, 1900-1950, will again be on display in the Central Library's Fourth Floor Gallery.

Including almost 300 images from the Archives' collections and private collections, the exhibit highlights the simple snapshot photos that preserve a moment, tell a story, and record life's milestones. Snapshots illustrate the common bonds of people creating their own visual biographies-mothers chronicling their children's growth, young men and women proudly leaning against automobiles, families playing in snow, friends being goofy. And for Birmingham, a place often remembered for its divisions, snapshots show the common interests, affections, and aspirations of people-black and white, wealthy and not-who shared far more than even they realized.

Originally displayed at BPL in 2002, Common Bonds traveled to Samford University in 2003, the Reykjavik (Iceland) Museum of Photography in 2003-2004, and Vulcan Park and Museum in 2006.

Common Bonds was funded by a generous grant from the Alabama Humanities Foundation, a state program of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Birmingham and Beyond: The Photography of the Shades Valley Photography Club
April 3, 2018 to May 14, 2018
Central Library, 4th Floor Gallery

The Shades Valley Camera Club (SVCC) was organized in 1954 and is one of the oldest in the United States. The club was established for the purpose of sharing the fascinating hobby of photography through knowledge, competitions, workshops, field trips, and fellowship. From silent rivers to flowing waterfalls, from baseball fields to iconic civil rights landmarks, from historic architecture to industrial scenes, this collection represents the diverse SVCC membership and their vision of the theme "Birmingham and Beyond."

Textures of Jazz is a 25-piece jazz portrait exhibition by Birmingham artist Leanna Leithauser Lesley in honor of Black History Month. Her collection of jazz needlepoint portraits are accompanied by biographies explaining the role each musician played in jazz history, American history,
and civil rights history. The exhibit will feature two workshops by the
artist with live music in Central Library's Atrium.

An exhibit from the collections of the Birmingham Public Library Archives
titled Alabama Illustrated: Engravings from 19th Century Newspapers, features images of Alabama people, places, and events that appeared in national and international newspapers from the 1850s to the 1890s.

Prior to the 1890s, the technology did not exist to reproduce photographs in newspapers inexpensively. To provide illustrations for their readers, national and international papers like
Harper's Weekly, Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, and the Illustrated London News sent artists around the world to draw pictures that were then engraved onto copper plates and printed in the newspapers. Many of these artists visited Alabama, and this exhibition features 28 examples of their work.

EventGallery tour with BPL Archivist, Jim Baggett, Sunday,
December 10, 2017 at 3:00 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

2017

Blood Divided: The Story of Dr. Charles R. Drew
October 20 to December 1, 2017
Central Library, 1st Floor Gallery

The exhibit, Blood Divided: The Story of Dr. Charles R. Drew, will be open from Friday, October 20, through Friday, December 1, 2017, in the First and Fourth Floor Galleries of the Central Library. One side of the exhibit will highlight the life and accomplishments of Dr. Charles R. Drew, the blood banking pioneer who could not donate blood because he was African American. The other side is a timeline of blood science and stigma throughout history and today.

Blood Divided is part of One In Our Blood, a comprehensive, city-wide program of events and exhibitions conceived and coordinated by Birmingham curator Paul Barrett, building on the work of Blood Equality. Blood Equality was launched in 2015 in partnership with Gay Menâ€™s Health Crisis, FCB Health, and artist Jordan Eaglesâ€™
Blood Mirror project to address discrimination against prospective LGBTQ blood donors and allow everyone an equal opportunity to donate blood.
"We're very proud to partner with GMHC and Jordan Eagles as we further our commitment to highlighting issues of blood equality through our work," said Rich Levy, Chief Creative Officer, FCB Health, the New York agency handling the campaign. "True to our Never Finished principle, this creative partnership lends us an important opportunity to challenge the discrimination based on outdated stigmas around blood donation by building equity for donors, influencing long-term behavior and leaving behind a positive impact."

#1960Now is a photography exhibit by Sheila Pree Bright who compares current civil rights protests by young millennials and groups such as Black Lives Matter to the 1960s civil rights movement.
The exhibit is a collection of her works that have appeared in the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History in Washington D.C. and two venues in Atlantaâ€”High Museum of Art and the Center for Civil and Human Rights.

#1960Now examines race, gender, and generational divides to raise awareness of millennial perspectives on civil and human rights. It is a photographic series of emerging young leaders affiliated with the Black Lives Matter movement. Bright documents responses to police shootings in Atlanta, Ferguson, Baltimore, Baton Rouge, and Washington, D.C.

"It seems an impossible task to write one statement for two artists. While we share a subject-the Italian landscape-our eyes, emotions, motivations, experiences, and even our equipment differed. For Bre, her collection of photographs encapsulates A Romantic Journey. She experienced Italy with her husband and best friends, while also photographing Tuscan weddings. Her images reflect the Italian fairytale-beautiful brides, sparkling wines, and rainbows over golden landscapes.

For me, however, I embarked on my Italian adventure after facing heartbreak. Viewing Italy through my lens transported me from the pain. Photographing felt like meditation-it was incredible, and seemed to heal me. The magical Light, the vibrant city-life, new friends, the powerful Dolomites, the poppy fields, the wine, the best pasta ever... In a way, I guess, I also experienced A Romantic Journey.

We present this collection to show the Love we captured." - Rachel
McElroy

"Caroline Wang is a watercolor artist and a retired NASA engineer and researcher. She grew up in Taiwan, and grew up again (culturally) in the United States. She has passion for art as well as science. Having a love for both disciplines, she studied art at the University of Minnesota and received a Master's degree in mathematics from the University of Wisconsin." (artist's website)

Watercolor with Asian Flair, assembles original watercolors of landscapes that Wang has encountered during her travels in the United States, the Far East, and Europe. Her watercolor paintings employ Asian brush strokes while retaining a Western visual perspective.

Wang has won numerous awards at state and regional art contests. Another collection of Caroline's work, Wild Lives in Color is currently on exhibit at the Decatur Carnegie Visual Art Center from June 27 to August 5.

A fashion designer as well, Wang uses her watercolor designs for VIDA scarves. She was one of the featured designers at the Alabama Fashion Alliance Fashion Show. Her other passions include violin, tennis, and public speaking. She has given many speeches to organizations and schools as a member of Toastmasters International. Through her artwork and speeches, Wang conveys one message: follow your passion and explore all the possibilities.

Featuring quilts by master artists from Gee's Bend and works by Miller's Pottery of Brent and Ham Pottery of Selma, the
Sewn and Thrown: Traditional Quilts and Folk Pottery from Alabama's Black Belt exhibit presents two living traditions of the region.

Acclaimed nationally and internationally, the Gee's Bend quilters are continuing the tradition through their families and community. Sixteen quilts by different women, some of whom
are exhibiting for the first time, represent the amazing colors and innovative techniques often associated with the textiles produced by several generations over the years.
Folk potter Steve Miller and his cousin Allen Ham grew up working alongside Steveâ€™s father, Eric Miller, in the workplace and shop on Highway 5 in Bibb County. Featured in documentary films, books, and articles, they represent a business dating to the 1850s that began on the Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay. Today, they use local clay to make and produce glazed stoneware, utilitarian items, face jugs, and other works of art that are sought after by collectors.
For more information about regional quilting and pottery, visit the
Alabama Folklife Association website.

EventOpening Reception, Saturday, May 13, 3:00-5:00 pm, 4th Floor Gallery. The event is free and open to the public.

Sweet Home: Alabama's History in Maps is an exhibit presented by the Birmingham Public Library in celebration of Alabama's bicentennial. The Library's Southern History Department has carefully selected over 50 maps from our world class collection to tell the story of Alabama. The maps in this exhibit represent 450 years of exploration, expansion, and development.

The Birmingham Public Library has been the grateful recipient of several large collections of rare, valuable, and exquisitely drawn maps. These donations were made by Birmingham natives Rucker Agee, John C. Henley III, Dr. Charles Ochs, and Joseph H. Woodward II. As a result of their generosity the BPL has an extraordinary map collection, the like of which is rarely seen outside of academia.

Map collectors and enthusiasts have long known that maps are much more than navigational tools. They tell a story, promote an agenda, and tantalize our imagination. Maps, like any historical document, are products of their time and their creators. In the hands of a gifted cartographer, they are works of art without compare. By studying historic maps of Alabama, we gain insight into not only the physical changes of our state over the course of its history, but also into the constantly changing perceptions of who we are and who we want to be. Enjoy this exhibit that tells our story which, while not always pretty, is still ongoing and being written by all of us.

EventOpening Reception, March 5, 3:00-5:00 pm 4th Floor Gallery. The event is free and open to the public.

ProgramsPrograms are free of charge, but registration is requested. To register, contact the
Southern History Department of the Birmingham Public Library at 205-226-3665 or
askgenlocal@bham.lib.al.us. This project is supported by a grant from the Alabama
Humanities Foundation, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Roads That "Start Somewhere and End Somewhere": How Alabama and
the Nation Got its First Highways, presented by Dr. Martin Olliff
Saturday, March 25, 2017, Arrington Auditorium. 10 a.m.
Central Library

In the 20th century, Americans used the power of state and national governments to erect
a network of roads and highways that made our current transportation system possible.
This presentation uses maps from the Rucker Agee Collection of the Birmingham Public
Library to discuss this small but important part of the national Good Roads Movement of
the early 1900s.

Making Your Sweet Home Among Maps: How to Read and Interpret Maps
of the Southeastern United States for Genealogists, Historians, Teachers,
and Map Lovers, presented by Dr. Melinda Kashuba
Saturday, April 8, 2017, Arrington Auditorium. 10 a.m.
Central Library

Do old maps enchant or intimidate you? Do the symbols intrigue or confuse you? This
hands-on workshop explores the symbols and mapping conventions used on 19th and early
20th century maps to tell the story of the development of the Southeast. Maps used in the
workshop are drawn from the Birmingham Public Library Cartography Collection.
Students will learn how to interpret and analyze information contained on old maps as well
as look for hidden meaning behind what was mapped and what was left off the map.

The artwork of E. Bruce Phillips, Jr. is an exploration of the connection between humans and
the environment as reflected in man-made structures. He is known for
use of circles, straight lines, and what Phillps calls his own
"curvilinear markings" as a form of artistic expression. Phillips'
newer works include photography and seek to capture the distinctive
style and architecture in downtown Montreal or New Orleans, and the
gritty crumbling buildings and bridges of American industrial
cities.

Before becoming an art professor at Tuskegee University, Phillips
held positions as director of the Chastain Arts Center & Gallery in
Atlanta, associate professor of art at the Atlanta Metropolitan
College, and director of community outreach at SCAD, another art
institution.

Opening Reception, Saturday, February 11, 2:00-4:00 pm 4th Floor Gallery. The event is free and open to the public.

2016

Coalesce: Collaborative Work by Joseph and Misty Bennett Exhibit
November 3 to December 30, 2016
Central Library, 4th Floor Gallery

"These collaborative works started out as an experimental conversation between two artists."

These are the reflective words of artists and University of Montevallo Art
Department faculty, Joseph and Misty Bennett. From November 1 through December 30, 2016, the Birmingham Public Library will showcase the work of both artists in the Central Libraryâ€™s Fourth Floor Gallery. A process was developed wherein one artist would begin a drawing, then hand it over to the other, and they would continue to pass it back and forth until both felt there was nothing more to add. It was a reactionary and spontaneous way of working, which led to a sense of discovery and a deeper understanding of self for each artist.

Event

Opening Reception, Saturday, November 12, 2:00-4:00 pm 4th Floor Gallery. The event is free and open to the public.

Together Again: University of Montevallo Art Studio Faculty and
Alumni Show
September 12 to October 28
Central Library, 4th Floor Gallery

This exhibit features recent work by University of Montevallo (UM)
Departmetn of Art faculty and graduates. Art is big at Montevallo and the
Department of Art is one of the largest departments int he University. With
a decdicated full-time faculty of 13 and over 250 art majors, students have
the challenges and the resources to achieve at their highest level, and many
choose to continue their education in graduate programs across the country.
UM offers concentrations in eight different areas, with a faculty director
in each area. The exhibit features work by each studio faculty member and by
invited alumni fro each area of concentration.

This exhibit features the work of ten Alabama artists who are also members of the
Watercolor Society of Alabama (WSA). However, the artwork in the exhibit will feature a variety of media including oil, acrylic, collage, watercolor, ceramics, mixed media, hand-painted lithography, and calligraphy.

The exhibit is curated by
Jaceena Shepard of Town Creek, Alabama, a well-known practicing artist, exhibition curator, and art teacher. Watercolors are not the only media to be featured in the show. The artists show their prowess in a variety of media including oils, acrylic, and sculpture. "These ten artists are enthusiastically creative. Their work is inspiring because it tells a story, makes us smile, asks â€˜how did she do thatâ€™, and causes us to realize that creativity comes from discovering the most potent muse of all is our own inner child," says Shepard.

Opening Reception, Sunday, July 10, 2:00-4:30 pm 4th Floor Gallery. The event is free and open to the public.

New Ideal: Artwork by Merrilee Challis
May 7 to June 24
Central Library, 4th Floor Gallery

"Everything going forward must be either an elegy (for what we have lost) or a celebration (of what we have left). Or both."

Those are the reflective words of Birmingham artist Merrilee Challiss. From May 7, 2016 through June 24, 2016, the Birmingham Public Library will showcase the artwork of Merrilee Challiss at the Central Libraryâ€™s Fourth Floor Gallery, 2100 Park Place downtown. Enjoy energetic paintings and mixed media works of a pensive, psychedelic nature. Together these works make up Challiss'
New Ideal.
"The paintings are failures of my attempts to represent energy and
consciousness in its various stages, respective to the subject," she
said. "What is left of our world, despite our best efforts to
destroy it, is still rife with wonder and beauty, fecundity and
meaning. I see all natural systems, man, animal, and spirit as
connected and constantly overlapping and co-existing on conscious
and unconscious levels. I locate myself and my role as artist, in a
meditative state, in the liminal realm between elegy and celebration, where the spirit and the unconscious trump our waking reality."

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Merrilee Challiss is an artist based in
Birmingham. She received her Bachelor's in Art from the University
of Alabama at Birmingham and Master's in Fine Arts from the
Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. In 2015, she did residencies at
Signal Fire, Portland, Oregon, and Starry Night Retreat, Truth or
Consequences, New Mexico.

Alabama's best-known political cartoonist of the twentieth
century, the
Birmingham News' Charles Brooks drew more than 10,000 editorial
cartoons and provided commentary on eight presidential
administrations, the Cold War, the civil rights movement, the
Vietnam War, and Watergate, as well as state and local politics. In
1998, Brooks donated nearly 4,000 of his original drawings, rendered
on 11 x 17-inch sheets, to the Birmingham Public Library. These
drawings are now preserved in the library's Department of Archives
and Manuscripts and form the basis for this exhibit, highlighting
Brooks' work on seven presidential campaigns from John Kennedy's
1960 razor-thin defeat of Richard Nixon to Ronald Reagan's 1984
landslide win over Walter Mondale.

The creation of this exhibit was funded by a generous grant from
the
Birmingham News.

Born in Andalusia, Alabama, Charles Brooks enrolled at
Birmingham-Southern College in 1939, applying $200 won in an art
contest toward his tuition. As his interest in political cartooning
grew, Brooks left Birmingham to study at the Chicago Academy of Fine
Arts with
Chicago Daily News cartoonist Vaughn Shoemaker, a two-time
winner of the Pulitzer Prize.

After serving two years in the military during World War II, Brooks worked
drawing gag-cartoons for a Chicago advertising agency. In 1948 he returned to
Alabama and was hired by the
Birmingham News as the paper's first editorial cartoonist. Charles Brooks
served as president of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists
(1969-1970) and president of the Birmingham Press Club (1968-1969). The
recipient of numerous awards for political cartooning, Brooks' work is featured
in more than 50 books, including encyclopedias and textbooks on history,
political science, and economics. In addition to two exhibits at the Birmingham
Public Library, his cartoons have been exhibited at the White House, the
National Portrait Gallery in London, and the Smithsonian Institution.

Charles Brooks retired from the
News in 1985 and died in 2011.

2015

Painting @ UAB: The Students of Gary Chapman
November 15 to December 31
Central Library, 4th Floor Gallery

An exhibition showcasing artwork by students in the painting program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). This
exhibit highlights the diverse work being created at UAB in the painting
studio, under the guidance of Professor Gary Chapman. While Chapman teaches a highly structured, somewhat traditional
beginning painting class, he then works with each student individually through the intermediate and advanced levels, guiding each studentâ€™s individual research, exploration, and experimentation. The result is a dynamic group of young painters who have each found and developed their unique vision through paint.

Event

Opening Reception, November 15, 2:30-5:00 pm 4th Floor Gallery. The event is free and open to the public.

Days of Glaze: an exhibit of photographs and memorabilia of Andrew Glaze, Alabamaâ€™s Poet LaureateNovember 6 to December 31, 2015
Central Library, 1st Floor Gallery

The Watercolor Society of Alabama Annual Members Showcase display features nearly 60 aqua media works from artists across the state.

Don Taylor of Panama City, Florida, is the awards juror. Taylor is past president of the Southern Watercolor Society 2006-2009 and past member of the Board of Directors at the Visual Arts Center of Northwest Florida. His paintings have been accepted in juried shows such as the Adirondacks National Watercolor exhibit (2007, 2012); Allied Artists of America (2007, 2008); 83rd American Artists Professional League Grand National 2011; 79th Hudson Valley Art Association 2010 Exhibit; and the Watercolor Society of Houston. Awards include the Merit Award in the Judith Ryan Williams Annual Nature and Wildlife Exhibit (2011); the San Antonio Watercolor Society Award (2000); and the Jack Richeson Award (2007) in the Southern Watercolor Society annual exhibits. A retired veterinarian, Taylor frequently teaches watercolor workshops.

Event

Award ceremony and opening reception, Sunday, September 20, from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m.,
4th floor gallery. The event is free and open to the public.

Layers of Meaning: Paintings by Matthew Mayes
July 9 to September 4 August 29
Central
Library, 4th Floor Gallery

To Create. To Desire. To Grow. To Nurture. To Dream. To Inspire. These words are not a slogan; they are the titles of paintings . . . paintings that fluidly progress in color, brushstroke by brushstroke. From July 9, 2015 through September 4, 2015, the Birmingham Public Library will showcase the work of local artist Matthew Mayes in the Central Libraryâ€™s Fourth Floor Gallery. Arresting acrylic paintings bold in color, texture, and depth make up the exhibition
Layers of Meaning: Paintings by Matthew Mayes.

About the Artist

Born in Florence, Alabama, Matthew Mayes is self-taught with over 12 years of experience as a professional artist. He currently resides in Birmingham with his partner Brian and their son Noah. Mayes began painting as a child after watching the television program "Joy of Painting" with Bob Ross. Mayes experienced a number of stints with hospitalization and home schooling due to illness and needed an outlet for his creativityâ€”art was his answer and it gave his life meaning.

"Once, I believed that love, food, and music were the core passions that transcended all race, creed, and color. Now, I know that art encompasses all,â€ he states. Regarding his creative process, Mayes observes, â€œI allow natural ability combined with a trained eye to create. Without both, my art could not exist."

A maze-like betta fish drawing produced with a single continuous line that never
crosses itself. An illustration of a homeless man, fashioned with an
elephant-god head. An abstract painting of Alabama, constructed entirely from
recycled materials. Cory Casella, Melissa Shultz-Jones, and Paul Cordes Wilm are
Birmingham artists with very unique perspectives.

Workshops
Cora Casella Drawing Workshop. On Saturday, June 6, from
10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., Casella will share his technique of
drawing in pen with one continuous line. The event will be held in
the Story Castle, 2nd Floor at the Central Library. Registration
requested; call 226-3670.

Hero Art Drawing workshop with Melissa-Shultz-Jones. On Wednesday
June 16 from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m., Shultz-Jones will lead a Hero Art
session for children and accompanying adult family members in the
Story Castle. Registration requested; call 226-3655.

Registration is required. Email
paperworkerslocal@gmail.com or visit
paperworkerslocal.blogspot.com for information.
Intro to Printing: March 14. Led by Mimi Boston
Solar Plate Photo Etching: April 18. Led by John DeMotte

Artist Statement: My work can be described formally as atmospheric and
architectural. At times, the ambiguous interior and exterior environments border
on sterile. However, in nature, calm is always disrupted by conflict either from
internal or external sources. Some are real while other exist only in our
psyche. Multiple conflicts often exist at once, and the ultimate goal becomes to
escape to an alternate state of mind. In my drawings, architectural forms
reference both the stability and instability of identity. Forces of nature, like
water and wind, invade and sometimes destroy, serving as a metaphor for the
evolving self.

Artist Bio: Bryce Speed was born in Mississippi and graduated with an MFA in
painting and drawing from the University of Alabama. He completed a residency at
the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center of the Arts in Nebraska City and taught at
Omaha Metro Community College, the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and Central
Community College in Columbus, NE. In 213 he began teaching at the University of
Alabama.

Speed's work has been included in numerous exhibitions in several sates. In
2006 and 2011, his works were selected for publication in Vols. 64 and 69 of New
American Paintings. Bryce's work was featured at the PS122 Gallery in New York
City in 2009, and in 2011 his works on paper were exhibited as part of the
Nebraska Arts Council's Nebraska Governor's Residence Exhibition Program and at
the Museum of Nebraska Art.

Moodyâ€™s sixty-five watercolors explore downtown Birmingham,
Southside, Five Points, Highland Avenue, Forest Park, and Redmont,
capturing the beauty and vitality of some of the cityâ€™s landmarks
and districts.

Nearly 60 aqua media works from across the state are on display
September 21â€“October 31 during the 2014 Watercolor Society of
Alabama Annual Members' Showcase at the Central Library.

E. Gordon West of San Antonio, Texas, is the selection juror.
West has received numerous awards in national exhibitions and has
works in the permanent collections of the McNay Art Museum in San
Antonio, Texas A&M University, and the University of Louisville. He
is a graduate of the University of Louisville and studied at the
Chicago Art Institute.

Steve Rogers of Ormond Beach, Florida is the awards juror. His
artwork has won international awards. He was the Purchase Award
Winner of the 2006 National Watercolor Society â€œBest of Show.â€ His
paintings have won four awards in the American Watercolor Society
Annual International Exhibitions. He graduated with a Bachelor of
Arts degree from Monmouth College in Monmouth, Ill.

Event
Reception and Awards Presentation: Sunday, September 21, 2:30-4:30
p.m., The Gallery
The event is free and open to the public.

Debra Eubanks Riffe
"Every Line Tells a Story"July 24-August 26, 2014

Linoleum block relief prints selected from the portfolio of Debra
Eubanks Riffe. Prints created and hand pressed from 2004 thru June
2014.

Artist's Statement: "I enjoy the versatility and the immediacy of
drawing with a pencil and the physicality of turning the wheel of a
printing press. Through simplicity of form, I use basic art
principles to convey shape, gesture, attitude, movement and emotion.
My compositions are, exclusively, images of African Americans placed
in rural southern surroundings, performing routine tasks in
timeless, solitary reflective moments. These tasks speak of social
status and identity; intimacy and a sense of place.

I appreciate the ordinary and I try to record details, within each print,
that will stir an emotion the viewer might respond to. Iâ€™m not opposed to using
a color palette, however, I canâ€™t deny that I enjoy the challenge of printing
with a rich, black oil-based ink. The contrast of sharp modulating lines on
bright white paper gives each print an infinite range of tonal variations and
textures."

Starr Weems enjoys designing colorful, dreamlike paintings
with watercolor using an unusual process which consists of layering drawing gum
and transparent color to build high-contrast images. She enjoys "making art that
represents the collision of reality and the fanciful world of dreams.

Once Joyce E. Brooks managed to minimize the overload, achieve
balance and gain some much deserved peace, she discovered a hidden
gift deep inside of her. Joyce had never given any thought to
becoming an artist. In 2010, after attending an event that included
painting on canvass for entertainment, she stumbled upon a new
passion. She began painting with acrylics and hasnâ€™t stopped.

Joyce E. Brooks is also the author of the book titled Self-Inflicted
Overload.

This month Joyce is celebrating being cancer-free for five years. Since being
declared cancer-free in 2009, Joyce has become an artist, author, stress
awareness expert, and a â€œmompreneur.â€ Joyce says, â€œBeing diagnosed with breast
cancer has been a life challenging experience. What could have been devastating
has turned out to be a blessing!â€

The exhibit Ladies, Gentlemen and Bazards: The Art of Lois
Wilson features a little known Alabama artist who died in
1980. The focus is on Wilsonâ€™s â€œfound artâ€ where she used wood that
she scavenged from demolition sites, parts of furniture that she
disassembled, old brushes, ironing boards, toilet seats and left
over food for coloring. Wilson took the trash that other people
discarded and used it to create art. The art illustrates the issues
that were important to Wilson: environmentalism and conservation,
racism, spiritualism, the needs of the aged and homeless, and the
emptiness of modern American materialism.

Heart Gallery
Alabama (HGA) is a state wide non-profit agency whose mission is
to help find forever families for Alabama's foster children. There
are more than 300 children at any one time, who have no identified
resource for a permanent home and family of their own, and these are
the children for whom HGA recruits. They recruit professional
photographers to volunteer to take the Children's portraits, and
then take these professional grade photographs around the state to
museums, malls, galleries, libraries, and other locations in order
to increase awareness of the need for foster and adoptive families
in the state of Alabama. Operating for almost eight years, they have
been very successful in finding forever families for over 450
children statewide. As November is National Adoption Month, this is
timely.

The exhibit is located on the 1st Floor Gallery of the Central
Library during regular business hours.

Event

Kickoff Party: November 6, 6:30 p.m., 1st Floor Central
This reception and information session will provide
instruction on adoption in the state of Alabama and introduce some
of children still hoping to be adopted as well as a few of the over
450 children successfully placed with Forever Families.

Watercolor Society of Alabama Annual Showcase
September 24-October 31

Maritima by Judith Aronson of Mobile

The Watercolor Society of Alabama Annual Members' Showcase features aqua
media paintings executed by watercolorists from across Alabama.

This exhibit features 41 pictures that capture the suspense, drama,
tension, struggle and triumph of the civil rights movement in Birmingham during
the 1950s and 1960s. Photographers with
The Birmingham News took the photos, which highlight freedom riders,
sit-ins, the Children's Crusade of 1963, the impact of the bombing of Sixteenth
Street Baptist Church and more. Courageous leaders such as the Rev. Fred
Shuttlesworth, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and others are featured in the
exhibit. "You may have seen some of these photos in the past but the detailed
captions next to each photo help you understand the full story and the
achievements of the Birmingham movement,'' said Marjorie White, president of the
Birmingham Historical Society. The
Birmingham Historical Society organized the exhibition.

The exhibit is located on the 1st Floor Gallery of the Central
Library during regular business hours.

Sky Shineman is Assistant Professor of Art in the Department of
Art and Art History at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. She
received both her MFA in Studio Art and BS in English Education from
Ohio State University in Columbus. She states, â€œIn painting, I am
interested in physical processes and phenomenal imagery. By
employing reductive methods such as sanding and bleaching, I attempt
to bring awareness to the tactile qualities of the painting object
while creating imagery that is connected to its making. Ideally the
process and the product overlap and enrich one another providing a
multi-sensory experience. The complex relationship between how
something looks and how it has come to being is the compelling
question behind the Surfacing series.â€

Shineman has shown in various galleries, museums, and art shows around the
country including the Alabama State Council on the Arts Gallery in Montgomery
and the SICA 7th Annual International Exhibition at the Shore Institute of
Contemporary Arts in Long Branch, New Jersey. Her many honors include the
University of Alabama Research Grants Committee Award for a project titled
Personal Modernism: Relating Through Painting (2012) and the Best in
Show Purchase Award at the 26th Annual West Alabama Juried Show (2010).

The sculptural work of Charles Clary and Jamey Grimes will intrigue,
fascinate, and challenge viewers. It is an exhibition unlike
anything shown at the Birmingham Public Library (BPL) before. The
artwork may resemble objects seen in nature, yet they are fictional
fabrications born of the artistsâ€™ imagination.

The exhibit is located in the 4th Floor Gallery of the Central Library during
regular business hours.

Art
Bacon is known by many as an artist, educator, and scientist.
However, art has always been his passion. He was born in West Palm
Beach but lived in several places in and outside of Florida.
Recognized early for his artistic talent, he won many prizes and
awards long before he graduated from high school. Now retired from
Talladega College where he was named Professor Emeritus of Natural
Sciences and Humanities, he is painting more than ever and
occasionally writes and recites poetry.

People are Baconâ€™s subjects of choice especially older and
neglected people whose experiences show in their faces. In the early
days, he worked almost exclusively with ink washes and linesâ€”very
little color. He was a minimalist and believed that color interfered
with his expression of feelings. Bacon now uses more color and
acrylics and a number of other media and techniques, often combining
several. However, he still likes lines and his palette is still
limited. A leading art critic describes Baconâ€™s work as â€œsocial
commentary with a bold vitality.â€ Works by Bacon can be found in
many private collections including those owned by Bill Cosby, U.S.
Congressman John Lewis, and Hank Thomas. Institutions owning pieces
by the artist include Alabama State University, Birmingham Civil
Rights Institute, Mobile Museum of Art, Heritage Hall Museum,
University of Maryland, Comer Museum, and Opryland. He has been
featured in
Southern Living and Lakeside magazines, Black
Art in America, an online journal, and other publications.

The exhibit is located in the 4th Floor Gallery of the Central Library during
regular business hours.

Afri-Spiritus Sembler: Diasporic Art Work
The Paintings of Mero'e Rei
April 2-May 10

The exhibit is located in the 4th Floor Gallery of the Central
Library during regular business hours.

Meroâ€™e Rei had an interest in art from an early age and began
producing works of art as a teenager. His love for jazz, blues and
gospel serves as the inspiration for many of his pieces. His
interest in African cave and rock art has inspired his later works.
Rei has shown extensively in both solo and group exhibitions.

Rei is a native of the southern region of Alabama near Mobile. He graduated
from high school in Birmingham, Alabama then attended the University of Alabama
where he studied ceramics, sculpture, and print-making. He later received his
B.A. at the State University of New York. Rei retired from the Office of
Personnel Management of the United States Federal Government. He also served in
the United States Navy as a medical corpsman. He gave many years as a clergyman
in the Alabama West Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church. In his
spare time, he studied art in galleries and museums in Spain and the Middle
East.

Artist Statement: â€œMy art is a visual study of Jazz music (expressions of
life) inspired by the African spiritual diaspora transmuted with connection to
ancient and modern elders. These inclinations are visualized in intrinsic
colors, organic forms and spontaneous rhythmic patterns, utilizing fresco and a
mixture of mediums as ebbing tides and flowing waves of colors emanating from my
life force and internal representations. My style of work contains Color Field,
Gestural and Lyrical Abstract Expressions.â€

Unseen...Unforgotten: Civil Rights Photographs from The
Birmingham News
February 2 - March 28

The exhibit is located in the 4th Floor Gallery of the Central
Library during regular business hours.

This exhibit features 41
pictures that capture the suspense, drama, tension, struggle and triumph of the
civil rights movement in Birmingham during the 1950s and 1960s. Photographers
with
The Birmingham News took the photos, which highlight freedom riders,
sit-ins, the Children's Crusade of 1963, the impact of the bombing of Sixteenth
Street Baptist Church and more. Courageous leaders such as the Rev. Fred
Shuttlesworth, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and others are featured in the
exhibit. "You may have seen some of these photos in the past but the detailed
captions next to each photo help you understand the full story and the
achievements of the Birmingham movement,'' said Marjorie White, president of the
Birmingham Historical Society. The
Birmingham Historical Society organized the exhibition.

Attorney Shores' Scrapbook- The
Life and Times of Birmingham's Civil Rights Lawyer and Civic Leader, 1939-1975
November 4 - December 28

The exhibit is located in the 4th Floor Gallery of the Central Library during
regular business hours.

From left, Autherine Lucy, Thurgood Marshall and Arthur Shores,
exit the federal courthouse in Birmingham, Ala. in February 1956, following
Lucy's reinstatement as the first black person to be admitted to the University
of Alabama.
Photo credit: Courtesy of The Birmingham News.

The Birmingham Historical
Society and the Birmingham Public Library are showcasing the life and times
of Birmingham civil rights attorney Arthur Shores in a special exhibit. The
exhibit features a scrapbook of newspaper reports and printed materials, which
Shores collected throughout his legal and political career.

The Birmingham Historical Society has copied numerous pages of the
scrapbook, which is larger than the size of a newspaper, in order to display
them in the downtown library's fourth floor gallery. Shores, who was born in
1904, was a high school principal at Dunbar High School in Bessemer, Ala. when
he became a lawyer in 1937. Although Shores died in 1996 at the age of 92, the
scrapbook and exhibit look at his career from 1939 to 1975.

Some of the exhibit highlights include:

How Shores and Thurgood Marshall successfully fought to get Autherine
Lucy enrolled as the first black student at the University of Alabama in
1956

How Shores became the first black person to sit on the Birmingham City
Council in 1968

How Shores fought to strike down a Birmingham zoning law, which
determined which side of Center Street black people could live. (Black
people could not live on the west side of the street. The zoning law was
struck down in 1946. Once people started moving to the west side of the
street, their homes were bombed. Shores moved his family to an east corner
of Center Street in 1953.)

How Shores' Birmingham home, which was located in an area that was known
as "Dynamite Hill" because of so many racist bombings, was bombed twice in
1963 because racists thought he was involved in an effort to integrate
Birmingham schools that year

Shores' daughters, Helen Shores Lee and Barbara Sylvia Shores, have written a
book about their father. During the Nov. 4 opening reception, they will sign
copies of
The Gentle Giant of Dynamite Hill - The Untold Story of Arthur D. Shores and
His Family's Fight for Civil Rights. They wrote the book with Denise
George. Helen Shores Lee is a Jefferson County circuit judge and Barbara Sylvia
Shores is director of the Jefferson County Office of Senior Citizens Services.
Both say they are humbled that an exhibit features their father, who fought for
voting rights, housing issues, educational opportunities and more. "I'm sure if
he were here, he'd be very pleased that there is a recognition of his work,''
says Helen Shores Lee.

In the early twentieth century, posing for a photographic portrait
was an event -it was an opportunity for people to make meaningful visual
statements about themselves, their families, and their communities. Those living
in Fayette County, Alabama, and the surrounding area did not need to travel to a
photo studio to have their picture taken. Instead, they could simply visit the
Shackelford family. Mitch and Geneva Shackelford, along with their children,
were multi-talented African American artists who played a central role in the
rural Fayette County community of Covin. Though farming was their primary
vocation, the Shackelfords were also commercial photographers who left behind a
collection of more than 850 glass-plate negatives that are now preserved in the
Birmingham Public Library Archives.

The Shackelfords photographed local residents and visiting travelers, taking
pictures of individuals, families, school groups, and civic organizations. In an
era when demeaning and stereotypical depictions of blacks were prevalent in the
United States, the Shackelfords provided African Americans with a vehicle for
self-representation. The Shackelford photographs offer a dynamic and rarely seen
depiction of the African American experience in rural Alabama and show black
people living full and vibrant lives in the face of the racial and socioeconomic
oppression of the Jim Crow era. This exhibition offers a glimpse into life on
both sides of the lens, telling the story of these remarkable photographers and
those who stepped in front of their camera.